The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX are preparing to launch the Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane on its eighth mission shortly before midnight on Thursday. The winged spacecraft, flying under the mission names USSF-36 and Orbital Test Vehicle 8 (OTV-8), will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:50 p.m. EDT (0350 UTC). The X-37B will be operated by the Fifth Space Operations Squadron, part of USSF Delta 9, alongside the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office